Li Chunhua's distress was quickly diluted by the feeling of returning home after she boarded the bus.
His home is in a new rural village near Guang'an County. A direct bus to the county seat takes only four hours. Then, you can take a minibus to the village and walk a short distance.
Li Chunhua actually had a vacation half a year ago. If he followed the normal vacation cycle, he would have to wait at least half a year before he could have a vacation.
So he was particularly surprised by this unexpected annual leave.
In order to give my family a surprise, I didn't inform them in advance.
His family built their own house, with three permanent residents: his father, mother, and his newlywed wife. His parents were in their 50s and still worked as farmers, while his wife worked in the nearby county town.
Li Chunhua bought her a car, which was a 20-minute drive one way, not too far.
When we arrived at the county station, it was already dark and the street lights were lit one by one.
Li Chunhua excitedly took a few people to the minibus station, but they waited for half an hour but no bus came.
Even though they were dressed warmly, being outside in the winter wind was still a bit too much for them. Lin Fan, in particular, huddled in his new cotton-padded jacket, stamping his feet constantly.
Song Ren, Gao Fei and Ji Yu all crowded around her to help her block the wind.
"Hey, don't wait, the minibus broke down." A three-wheeled motorcycle stopped in front of a few people, and the driver spoke in Mandarin with a dialect accent.
"It's broken? Why is it broken?" Li Chunhua asked hurriedly.
Although Lin Fan didn't complain out loud, Li Chunhua felt anxious and embarrassed when she saw her condition.
The departure time of the bus from the county station is not so accurate, but there is usually one every twenty minutes or so. This time, I waited for a long time but it didn’t come. Could something really have gone wrong?
"Yes, two cars collided." Seeing that Li Chunhua was a local, the driver replied in dialect.
"What? Two cars from the same class collided?" Li Chunhua widened his eyes.
"Yes, we got hit at the station and can't get out at all." The driver laughed. "Where are you going? I'll go with you. Don't wait. It's so cold, and girls can't wait any longer."
Li Chunhua didn't quite believe what the man said, but looking at Lin Fan behind him, he stopped worrying. At least the three-wheeled vehicle had a shed, and since he was a local, he wouldn't be tricked into taking a long detour. "Da Li Village, how much?"
"Five people?" The driver smiled even more when he heard there was business.
"Five people." Li Chunhua bargained with the driver and quickly finalized the price, allowing the people to get on the car quickly.
"What's going on?" Lin Fan asked, "Aren't we taking a minibus?"
Lin Fan had been ripped off by illegal taxis before, so he was a little unsure about this mode of transportation.
"They said their car crashed and can't be repaired right now, so there won't be any more cars coming," Li Chunhua explained. "A bus should come every 20 minutes, but it's already been over 40 minutes. It's too cold, so I won't wait any longer."
Everyone quickly got into the cloak. Lin Fan sat with his back to the driver, while the other four sat on the sides, two by two, facing each other.
The tricycle started quickly and drove quite fast. There was a shed to block the wind, so it wasn't that cold.
"How long will it take to get to your house?" Gao Fei asked.
The sky was getting darker and darker, and the streetlights on the roads farther away from the county town became fewer and fewer. The buildings and trees left only dark shadows in the night.
"About ten to twenty minutes." Li Chunhua was not too sure, as he had never ridden a three-wheeled motorcycle before.
The bus usually takes about 20 minutes. Although the three-wheeled vehicle is slower, it does not stop along the way, so the time should be about the same.
There was no light in the shed and no street light outside. Li Chunhua kept finding topics to ease the awkwardness.
Lin Fan suddenly asked, "Wasn't that bus No. 12 that we were waiting for?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Li Chunhua was stunned and looked at Lin Fan.
In the darkness, everyone's faces were vaguely visible.
"Look, look behind." Lin Fan was facing the rear and was the first to notice the minibus with its lights on.
When they looked back, they could only make out a minibus, but couldn't make out the number on the license plate. Even Song Ren, who had the best eyesight, couldn't see it clearly.
Is Lin Fan's eyesight so good? Several people thought in unison.
After waiting for a while, the minibus caught up and it was indeed bus No. 12.
The bright carriage was empty, and it passed by the three-wheeled motorcycle in a flash.
"..." The group looked at Li Chunhua silently. Didn't they say there was no car? It's only been a few minutes.
The three-wheeled motorcycle has no lights and is very bumpy. Although it can block some wind, the riding experience is really not good.
I originally thought that there was no minibus, so I just had to make do with it. But the minibus just passed by like that...
Li Chunhua's face instantly flushed, and he asked loudly: "Master, didn't you say the car was broken down and there was no car left?"
The smiling voice of the craftsman in front of us came through the shed. "Oh, it must have been fixed. I can't just not let someone fix it."
Li Chunhua choked. He'd been fooled! And in his own hometown, by a local.
His face flushed, and he was about to lose his temper, but Lin Fan talked him down. "Forget it, we're already up here, and we'll have to wait for the bus if we get off. Might as well just sit here."
It was the first time he took a colleague home, and he acted so badly right after getting out of the car. Li Chunhua felt embarrassed and covered her face with her hands, unwilling to let go for a long time.
"Hey, Li Chunhua," Lin Fan called out to him. "There are so many of us. Can your house accommodate us?"
Li Chunhua realized that Lin Fan was trying to help him out, so he refrained from any pretense. He rubbed his face and replied, "We have room for you. We have a kang (a large bed) at home, a large bunk bed. We can accommodate ten people in a row. We have two rooms."
"Do they have kangs in Sichuan?" Ji Yu suddenly asked, "Why do I remember they don't have kangs here?"
"We are located in the north and the terrain is relatively flat. We are not in a basin, so it is cold in winter," Li Chunhua explained.
"I've never slept on a kang before." Lin Fan was a little curious.
"Me neither." Gao Fei's home is in the south, where it doesn't always snow, let alone a kang.
"Neither do I." Ji Yu was a native of Gaohe. On the coast, the winter temperature there is two or three degrees higher than inland.
Everyone looked at Song Ren, he was a genuine northerner.
"I have slept on a kang, but not at home. We live in the city and have heating in winter," said Song Ren.
…
A few of them chatted and laughed in the dark and soon arrived at the village entrance.
The driver was unwilling to go in, and Li Chunhua didn't want to waste any more time, so she gave him money and sent him away quickly.
The group walked towards the village under the stars and moon. When they passed by other people's yards, they would always cause the dogs of that household to bark.
After walking about seven or eight hundred meters, I arrived at a small courtyard with a light on at the door.
Because it was dark, I couldn't see the whole picture clearly. I only saw that the door frame was covered with vermilion tiles, and on the red double iron door, there were two door gods, staring at the people outside the door with embarrassed eyes.
Li Chunhua went up and knocked on the gate.
"Where are your keys?" Gao Fei asked curiously. Don't most people take out their own keys to open the door when they get home?
"There's usually someone at home, so I don't usually need to bring a key." Seeing no response from inside, Li Chunhua continued filming.
"Who is it?" There was a sound of a door opening in the yard, then the lights came on, and a deep middle-aged male voice asked.
"It's me, Dad. I'm back!" Li Chunhua replied loudly.
"Huazi?" The man was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly.
"It's me, Dad. Open the door quickly. I'm back with my friends." At this time, Li Chunhua suddenly felt that not bringing the key was not a good thing.
"Why do I hear Huazi's voice?" A middle-aged woman's voice came from the yard again.
"Mom, it's me. Please ask Dad to open the door. Several of my friends are freezing." Li Chunhua became even more excited when he heard his mother's voice.
"Hurry, hurry, old man, Huazi is back, open the door!" After a burst of urging, footsteps quickly approached and the iron gate opened from the inside.
"Dad!" Li Chunhua hugged his old father excitedly when she saw him whom she hadn't seen for half a year.
"Huazi!" A simple middle-aged woman also appeared behind the door, with joy in her eyes.
"Mom!" Li Chunhua also gave her a big bear hug. "Where's Miaomiao?"
He looked up and saw someone standing at the door of the main room. She was holding the door with one hand, standing on the steps, not coming down, looking at him and smiling.
It was his childhood sweetheart, his newlywed wife, Shi Miao.
Li Chunhua is a big fool. Don't forget to vote.